PM in New England

At the time the PM2.5 standards
were established in 1997, EPA also issued standard methods for monitoring
PM2.5 levels in the ambient air to determine which parts of the country
were subject to unhealthy levels. EPA New England worked closely
with the New England states to deploy a region wide network of PM2.5
ambient air quality monitors.

On September 27, 2006, EPA ammended its national air-quality monitoring requirements,
including those for PM monitoring. The changes will help EPA, states, and local agencies improve their measurement
of air quality, and take advantage of improvements in monitoring
technology. Under this rule, many of the existing PM10 monitors will remain in place, especially in areas
that exceed the 24-hour PM10 standard. State may choose to shut down monitors that either are
redundant or are measuring air-quailty concentrations that easily meet the 24-hour PM10 standard.
The PM2.5 monitoring network will continue, but some monitors could be moved. Every-day sampling
will be required for some sites where concentrations of PM2.5 approach the 24-hour standard for
PM2.5, while other sites will operate every third or sixth day. PM2.5 chemical-speciation
monitoring will continue at 54 national sites used to track trends in air quality, and in areas to support
emission-control strategies. PM2.5 continuous monitoring will continue at many sites to support
forecasting and reporting of the Air Quality Index (AQI). In addition, EPA and the states will add measurements
of "inhalable coarse particles," (i.e. PM10-2.5) at the 75 multi-pollutant NCore
monitoring sites.